MISSOURI — According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the spring turkey season will get underway on Monday, April 17 and continue through Sunday, May, 7. Hunting hours will be one-half hour before sunrise to 1 p.m.
Adult male turkeys are very large and dark with a bare, red and blue head, with red wattles on the throat and neck. They have long legs. The feathers are bronzy and iridescent. Males, and some females, have a tuft of hair like feathers (a “beard”) in the middle of the breast. Females are smaller and less iridescent. Turkeys are most famous for their gobbling calls, but they make many other vocalizations as well.
Limits
- You may take only one turkey during the first week
- If you do not take one during the first week, then you may take two turkeys during the second and third week.
- You may not take two turkeys on the same day.
Valid Permits
Allowed & Prohibited Methods
Longbows, recurve bows, or compound bows. Hand-held string releasing devices, illuminated sights, scopes, and quick point sights are allowed.
Crossbows
Atlatls
Turkey: Spring: Prohibited Methods
Shot larger than No. 4 (in use or in possession)
Any sighting device that casts a beam of light on the game
Thermal imagery equipment or night vision equipment (in use or in possession)
Recorded calls (in use or in possession)
Use of dogs or live decoys
Use of bait, which includes grain or other feed placed or scattered so as to attract turkeys. An area is considered baited for 10 days even after complete removal of the bait. A hunter can be in violation even if he or she did not know an area was or is baited. It is illegal to place bait in a way that causes others to be in violation of the baiting rule.